HARQ process identifier

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications. In some aspects, a receiver may, for data communications received from a transmitter during a delay-constrained time period, identify a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process from one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period. The number of the one or more HARQ processes may be based at least in part on the number of data communications that the receiver will receive from the transmitter during the delay-constrained time period. The receiver may send HARQ feedback associated with the HARQ process to the transmitter based at least in part on the data communications. Various other aspects are also provided.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 867,588, entitled “HARQ PROCESS IDENTIFICATION FOR IIOT,” filed on June 27, 2019, and U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application No. 16 / 908,264, entitled “HARQ PROCESS IDENTIFICATION,” filed on June 22, 2020, both of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to techniques and apparatus for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identification. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of telecommunication services, such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc., or a combination thereof). Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and long term evolution (LTE). LTE / LTE-Advanced is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0005] The above-mentioned multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different user equipment (UE) to communicate at the city, country, regional, and even global levels. New Radio (NR), also known as 5G, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard released by 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectrum efficiency, reducing costs, improving services, utilizing new spectrum, and using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) (CP-OFDM) on the downlink (DL) and CP-OFDM or SC-FDM (e.g., also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the uplink (UL) to better integrate with other open standards, as well as supporting beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation. However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to grow, further improvements to LTE and NR technologies are needed. Preferably, these improvements are applicable to other multiple access technologies and telecommunication standards that adopt these technologies.

[0006] The UE and the base station (BS) may be included in various types of deployments. An example deployment may include an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) deployment, in which the UE and the BS may be associated with a smart factory or industrial environment. In an IIoT deployment, the UE and the BS may communicate in one or more IIoT time periods, each of which may include one or more self-contained 1 millisecond (ms) durations. The information exchanged between the UE and the BS in an IIoT time period may be relatively small in size. However, a significant signaling overhead may be required to schedule and track hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback during the IIoT time period. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In some aspects, a method of wireless communication performed by a receiver may include, for data communications received from a transmitter during a delay-constrained time period, identifying a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process from one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period, the number of the one or more HARQ processes being based at least in part on a number of data communications that the receiver will receive from the transmitter during the delay-constrained time period. The method may also include sending HARQ feedback associated with the HARQ process to the transmitter based at least in part on the data communications.

[0008] In some aspects, a method of wireless communication performed by a transmitter may include sending a data communication to a receiver during a delay-constrained time period. The method may include, for the data communication, receiving HARQ feedback associated with one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period, the number of the one or more HARQ processes being based at least in part on a number of data communications to be sent by the transmitter to the receiver during the delay-constrained time period.

[0009] In some aspects, a receiver for wireless communication may include a memory and one or more processors operably coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to, for data communications received from a transmitter during a delay-constrained time period, identify a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process from one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period, the number of the one or more HARQ processes being based at least in part on a number of data communications that the receiver will receive from the transmitter during the delay-constrained time period. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to send HARQ feedback associated with the HARQ process to the transmitter based at least in part on the data communications.

[0010] In some aspects, a transmitter for wireless communication may include a memory and one or more processors operably coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to send a data communication to a receiver during a delay-constrained time period. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to receive, for the data communication, HARQ feedback associated with a HARQ process from one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period, the number of the one or more HARQ processes being based at least in part on a number of data communications to be sent by the transmitter to the receiver during the delay-constrained time period.

[0011] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store one or more instructions for wireless communication. The one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of a receiver, may cause the one or more processors to: for data communications received from a transmitter during a delay-constrained time period, identify a HARQ process from one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period, the number of the one or more HARQ processes being based at least in part on a number of data communications that the receiver will receive from the transmitter during the delay-constrained time period; and, when executed by the one or more processors of the receiver, may cause the one or more processors to: send HARQ feedback associated with the HARQ process to the transmitter based at least in part on the data communications.

[0012] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store one or more instructions for wireless communication. The one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of a transmitter, may cause the one or more processors to: send a data communication to a receiver during a delay-constrained time period. The one or more instructions, when executed by the one or more processors of the transmitter, may cause the one or more processors to: for the data communication, receive HARQ feedback associated with a HARQ process from one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period, the number of the one or more HARQ processes being based at least in part on a number of data communications to be sent by the transmitter to the receiver during the delay-constrained time period.

[0013] In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication may include means for identifying, for data communications received from a transmitter during a delay-constrained time period, a HARQ process from one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period, the number of the one or more HARQ processes being based at least in part on a number of data communications to be received by the apparatus from the transmitter during the delay-constrained time period. The apparatus may also include means for sending HARQ feedback associated with the HARQ process to the transmitter based at least in part on the data communications.

[0014] In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication may include means for sending a data communication to a receiver during a delay-constrained time period. The apparatus may include means for receiving, for the data communication, HARQ feedback associated with a HARQ process from one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period, the number of the one or more HARQ processes being based at least in part on a number of data communications to be sent by the apparatus to the receiver during the delay-constrained time period.

[0015] Aspects generally include methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user equipment, base stations, wireless communication devices, and / or processing systems substantially as described with reference to the specification and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

[0016] The features and technical advantages of the examples according to the present disclosure have been outlined quite broadly above so that the subsequent detailed description may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described below. The concepts and specific examples disclosed may be readily used as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. The characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein, both their organization and method of operation, and the associated advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Each figure is provided for illustration and description purposes only and not as a definition of limitations to the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to enable a detailed understanding of the features of the present disclosure enumerated above, a more particular description, briefly summarized above, may be made by reference to various aspects, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however, that the drawings illustrate only some typical aspects of the present disclosure and are not to be considered limiting of its scope, as the description may admit to other equally effective aspects. The same reference numerals in different figures may identify the same or similar elements.

[0018] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless network in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example base station (BS) communicating with a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 3A is a block diagram illustrating an example frame structure for use in a wireless network in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 3B is a block diagram illustrating an example synchronous communication hierarchy for use in a wireless communication network in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of deployment of delay constraints according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 5A and Figure 5B is a diagram illustrating an example of a time period for a delay constraint according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figures 6A to 7Bis a diagram illustrating one or more examples of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identifications according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed by a receiver according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed by a transmitter according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 10 and Figure 11 is a block diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communication in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Various aspects of the present disclosure will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure can be embodied in many different forms and is not to be construed as being limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout the present disclosure. On the contrary, these aspects are provided to make the present disclosure detailed and complete, and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings herein, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of any other aspect of the present disclosure or implemented in combination with any other aspect of the present disclosure. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein can be used to implement an apparatus or practice method. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover this apparatus or method practiced using other structures, functionality, or structures and functionality in addition to or different from the various aspects of the present disclosure set forth herein. Any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein can be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

[0029] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various devices and techniques. These devices and techniques will be described in the detailed description below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc., or combinations thereof (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements can be implemented using hardware, computer software, or a combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0030] It is worth noting that although various aspects may be described herein using terminology generally associated with 3G and / or 4G wireless technologies, aspects of the present disclosure may be applied in other generation-based communication systems, such as 5G and higher, including NR technology.

[0031] The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is a branch of cellular technology in which user equipment (UE) and base stations (BS) can be used to carry control data, measurement data, etc. between various industrial systems. For example, IIoT can be used to control sensors and / or actuators to exchange measurement information between programmable logic controllers (PLCs) on the factory floor (for example, in factory automation applications). In many applications, this traffic is considered ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) traffic, which imposes strict latency and reliability requirements. Therefore, as the number of devices (such as sensors, actuators, PLCs, UEs, etc.) in a given IIoT deployment increases, the amount of overhead consumed by control signaling in the IIoT deployment may result in increased latency in the IIoT deployment, which may result in a reduction in the ability to meet the reliability requirements of the IIoT deployment, etc.

[0032] One type of signaling that may lead to inefficient consumption of overhead in IIoT deployments may include signaling associated with configuring and tracking hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback in IIoT deployments. In some cases, a receiver may provide feedback to a transmitter associated with data communications received from the transmitter. For example, for data communications received from a BS, a UE may provide feedback to the BS. As another example, for data communications received from a UE, the BS may provide feedback to the UE. The feedback may include, for example, HARQ feedback (such as an acknowledgment (ACK) or negative acknowledgment (NACK) for the data communication). The BS may configure multiple HARQ processes, which may be used by the UE and the BS to track HARQ feedback on the downlink and uplink. The use of multiple HARQ processes may be used to reduce delays between subsequent data communication transmissions because, while the receiver is decoding the data communication and determining HARQ feedback for the HARQ process, the transmitter may simultaneously send another data communication associated with another HARQ process. This permits back-to-back scheduling of data communication transmissions, where a sender typically must wait to receive an ACK or NACK for a sent data communication before sending another data communication (which may be a new packet or a retransmission of a packet sent in a previous data communication).

[0033] While the use of multiple HARQ processes can reduce the delay between data packet transmissions, the number of bits required to track the HARQ process identifier associated with each HARQ process consumes a significant amount of signaling overhead, such as signaling overhead in downlink control information (DCI). Consequently, an increase in DCI size may result in increased latency and decreased reliability in IIoT deployments. For example, fewer DCI communications and corresponding data packets may be sent in an IIoT time period, the decoding time for decoding DCI communications may increase, the probability of missing or incorrectly decoding DCI may increase, etc. This may cause issues with the latency and reliability requirements of IIoT deployments, which in turn may result in lost data communications and / or other issues.

[0034] Some aspects described herein provide techniques and apparatus for HARQ process identification. Some aspects described herein can be implemented in various scenarios in which packets are sent and received with delay constraints, such as IIoT and other such scenarios. In some aspects, the delay-constrained time period can be self-contained in that the transmission (or retransmission) of data communications to be sent in the delay-constrained time period is contained within the delay-constrained time period and does not span more than the delay-constrained time period. Accordingly, in order to reduce the signaling overhead of implementing HARQ in a delay-constrained deployment, the BS can determine the number of HARQ processes to be configured for the delay-constrained time period based at least in part on the number of data communications to be sent by the transmitter (such as the BS or UE) to the receiver (e.g., the BS or UE) in the delay-constrained time period. This is possible because the transmission (or retransmission) of the data communications will be initiated and completed in the same delay-constrained time period, which means that the receiver and transmitter do not have to track the same HARQ process for data communications across multiple delay-constrained time periods. Therefore, the number of HARQ processes required for a receiver in a delay-constrained deployment can be configured by the BS to be the same as the number of data transmissions that the transmitter will send to the receiver in a single delay-constrained time period. Accordingly, because the number of data transmissions in a given delay-constrained time period can be small relative to the number of transmissions that the transmitter and receiver can track in a non-delay-constrained deployment, configuring the number of HARQ processes based at least in part on the number of data communications that the transmitter will send to the receiver in the delay-constrained time period can reduce (or eliminate) the overhead of configuring and tracking HARQ in a delay-constrained deployment, which improves reliability in a delay-constrained deployment.

[0035] Figure 1is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless network 100 according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless network 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network or some other wireless network, such as a 5G or NR network. The wireless network 100 may include a number of base stations (BSs) 110 (shown as BS 110a, BS 110b, BS 110c, and BS 110d) and other network entities. A BS is an entity that communicates with (multiple) user equipments (UEs) and may also be referred to as a Node B, eNodeB, eNB, gNB, NRBS, 5G Node B (NB), access point (AP), transmit receive point (TRP), etc., or a combination thereof (these terms are used interchangeably herein). Each BS may provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell", depending on the context in which the term is used, may refer to a coverage area of a BS or a BS subsystem serving that coverage area.

[0036] A BS may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographical area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access to a UE through service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographical area and may allow unrestricted access to a UE through service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographical area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access to UEs associated with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico BS. A BS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. A BS may support one or more (e.g., three) cells.

[0037] The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network including different types of BSs (e.g., macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, relay BSs, etc., or a combination thereof). These different types of BSs may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different impacts on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, a macro BS may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 to 40 watts), while a pico BS, femto BS, and relay BS may have a lower transmit power level (e.g., 0.1 to 2 watts). Figure 1In the example shown in FIG, BS 110a may be a macro BS for macrocell 102a, BS 110b may be a pico BS for picocell 102b, and BS 110c may be a femto BS for femtocell 102c. A network controller 130 may be coupled to the set of BSs 102a, 102b, 110a, and 110b and may provide coordination and control for these BSs. The network controller 130 may communicate with the BSs via a backhaul. The BSs may also communicate with each other, for example, directly or indirectly via a wireless backhaul or a wired backhaul.

[0038] In some aspects, the cells may not be stationary, but rather the geographic area of the cells may move depending on the location of the mobile BS. In some aspects, the BSs may be interconnected to each other or to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless network 100 via various types of backhaul interfaces, such as direct physical connections using any suitable transport network, virtual networks, etc., or a combination thereof.

[0039] The wireless network 100 may also include a relay station. A relay station is an entity that can receive data transmissions from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or a UE) and send data transmissions to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station may also be a UE that can relay transmissions for other UEs. Figure 1 In the example shown in , a relay station 110d may communicate with a macro BS 110a and a UE 120d to facilitate communication between the BS 110a and the UE 120d. A relay station may also be referred to as a relay BS, a relay base station, a relay, etc., or a combination thereof.

[0040] UEs 120 (e.g., 120a, 120b, 120c) may be located throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. A UE may also be referred to as an access terminal, terminal, mobile station, subscriber unit, station, or the like, or a combination thereof. A UE may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smartphone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet computer, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device or equipment, a biosensor / device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring, a smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satellite radio), a component or sensor of a vehicle, a smart meter / sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless medium.

[0041] Some UEs may be considered to be machine type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, positioning markers, etc., or a combination thereof, which may communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. For example, a wireless node may provide connectivity for a network or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) via a wired communication link or a wireless communication link. Some UEs may be considered to be Internet of Things (IoT) devices or IIoT devices, or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband Internet of Things) devices. Some UEs may be considered to be customer premises equipment (CPE). UE 120 may be included in a housing that houses components of UE 120 (such as a processor component, a memory component, etc., or a combination thereof).

[0042] In general, any number of wireless networks can be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network can support a specific radio access technology (RAT) and can operate on one or more frequencies or frequency channels. Frequencies can also be referred to as carriers, etc. or a combination thereof. Each frequency can support a single RAT in a given geographic area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks can be deployed.

[0043] In some aspects, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) can communicate directly with each other using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., without using base station 110 as an intermediary). For example, the UEs 120 can communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocols (e.g., which may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, etc., or a combination thereof), mesh networks, etc., or a combination thereof. In this case, the UEs 120 can perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by the base station 110.

[0044] Figure 2 2 is a block diagram 200 illustrating an example base station (BS) communicating with a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The base station 110 may be equipped with T antennas 234a through 234t, and the UE 120 may be equipped with R antennas 252a through 252r, where in general T ≥ 1 and R ≥ 1.

[0045] At base station 110, transmit processor 220 may receive data for one or more UEs from data source 212, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for each UE based at least in part on a channel quality indicator (CQI) received from the UE, process (e.g., encode) the data for each UE based at least in part on the MCS selected for the UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. Transmit processor 220 may also process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI), etc., or a combination thereof) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper layer signaling, etc., or a combination thereof), and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. Transmit processor 220 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signals (PSS) and secondary synchronization signals (SSS)). The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, or reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs) 232a to 232t. Each MOD 232 may process a corresponding output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc., or a combination thereof) to obtain an output sample stream. Each MOD 232 may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The T downlink signals from MODs 232a to 232t may be transmitted via T antennas 234a to 234t, respectively. According to various aspects described in detail below, a synchronization signal may be generated by positioning coding to convey additional information.

[0046] At UE 120, antennas 252a through 252r may receive downlink signals from base station 110 or other base stations and may provide received signals to R demodulators (DEMODs) 254a through 254r, respectively. Each DEMOD 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each DEMOD 254 may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc., or a combination thereof) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from all R DEMODs 254a through 254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols (if applicable), and provide detected symbols. A receive processor 258 may process (e.g., decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 120 to a data sink 260, and provide decoded control information and system information to a controller / processor 280. The channel processor may determine reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), channel quality indicator (CQI), etc., or a combination thereof. In some aspects, one or more components of UE 120 may be included in a housing.

[0047] On the uplink, at the UE 120, a transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from a data source 262 and control information (e.g., for reports including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, etc., or a combination thereof) from the controller / processor 280. The transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be precoded by the TX MIMO processor 266 (if applicable), further processed by the MODs 254a through 254r (e.g., for discrete Fourier transform-spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-s-OFDM), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) (CP-OFDM), etc., or a combination thereof), and transmitted to the base station 110. At base station 110, uplink signals from UE 120 and other UEs may be received by antenna 234, processed by DEMOD 232, detected by MIMO detector 236 (if applicable), and further processed by receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by UE 120. Receive processor 238 may provide decoded data to data pool 239 and decoded control information to controller / processor 240. Base station 110 may include a communication unit 244 and may communicate with network controller 130 via communication unit 244. Network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller / processor 290, and a memory 292.

[0048] The controller / processor 240 of the base station 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, or Figure 2 Any other component(s) of the base station 110 may perform one or more techniques associated with HARQ process identification for IIoT, as described in detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 240 of the base station 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, or Figure 2 Any other component(s) of may perform or direct operations such as: Figure 8 The process of 800 Figure 9 Memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for base station 110 and UE 120, respectively. Scheduler 246 may schedule UEs to transmit data on the downlink or uplink.

[0049] In some aspects, a receiver (such as BS 110 or UE 120) may include: means for identifying, for a data communication received from a transmitter during a delay-constrained time period, a HARQ process from one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period, the number of the one or more HARQ processes being based at least in part on a number of data communications that the receiver will receive from the transmitter during the delay-constrained time period; means for sending HARQ feedback associated with the HARQ process to the transmitter based at least in part on the data communication; or a combination thereof. In some aspects, such means may include in conjunction with Figure 2 One or more components of the BS 110 or UE 120 are described.

[0050] In some aspects, a transmitter (such as BS 110 or UE 120) may include: means for sending a data communication to a receiver during a delay-constrained time period; means for receiving, for the data communication, HARQ feedback associated with a HARQ process from one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period, the number of the one or more HARQ processes being based at least in part on a number of data communications that the transmitter will send to the receiver during the delay-constrained time period; or a combination thereof. In some aspects, such means may include in conjunction with Figure 2 One or more components of the BS 110 or UE 120 are described.

[0051] Figure 3A 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example frame structure 300 for use in a wireless network in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. For example, the frame structure 300 may be used for frequency division duplexing (FDD) in a telecommunications system (e.g., NR). The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink directions may be divided into units of radio frames (sometimes simply referred to as "frames"). Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)) and may be divided into a set of Z (Z ≥ 1) subframes (e.g., indexed 0 to Z-1). Each subframe may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 1 ms) and may include a set of time slots (e.g., Figure 3A Each subframe 2 is shown in m time slots, where m is a numerology for transmission, such as 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. or a combination thereof). Each time slot may include a set of L symbol periods. For example, each time slot may include fourteen symbol periods (e.g., Figure 3A), seven symbol periods, or another number of symbol periods. In the case where a subframe includes two slots (e.g., when m=1), the subframe may include 2L symbol periods, where the 2L symbol periods in each subframe may be assigned indices from 0 to 2L-1. In some aspects, the scheduling unit for FDD may be frame-based, subframe-based, slot-based, symbol-based, etc., or a combination thereof.

[0052] Although some techniques are described herein in conjunction with frames, subframes, time slots, etc., or combinations thereof, these techniques may equally apply to other types of wireless communication structures that may be referred to using terms other than "frames," "subframes," "time slots," etc., or combinations thereof, as used in 5G NR. In some aspects, a wireless communication structure may refer to a periodic, time-limited communication unit defined by a wireless communication standard or protocol. Additionally or alternatively, a frame different from a frame may be used. Figure 3A The configuration of the wireless communication structure is shown in FIG.

[0053] In some telecommunications (e.g., NR), the base station may transmit synchronization signals. For example, the base station may transmit a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), etc., or a combination thereof, on the downlink for each cell supported by the base station. The PSS and SSS may be used by the UE for cell search and collection. For example, the PSS may be used by the UE to determine symbol timing, and the SSS may be used by the UE to determine the physical cell identifier associated with the base station, as well as frame timing. The base station may also transmit a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The PBCH may carry some system information, such as system information that supports initial access by the UE.

[0054] In some aspects, a base station may transmit a PSS, SSS, or PBCH according to a synchronization communication hierarchy (e.g., a synchronization signal (SS) hierarchy) including multiple synchronization communications (e.g., SS blocks), as described below in conjunction with Figure 3B As stated.

[0055] Figure 3B 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example synchronous communication hierarchy for use in a wireless communication network according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The SS hierarchy is an example of a synchronous communication hierarchy. Figure 3B As shown, the SS hierarchy may include an SS burst set, which may include multiple SS bursts (identified as SS burst 0 to SS burst B-1, where B is the maximum number of repetitions of the SS burst that may be transmitted by the base station). As further shown, each SS burst may include one or more SS blocks (identified as SS block 0 to SS block (b)). max_SS-1 )), where b max_SS-1is the maximum number of SS blocks that can be carried by an SS burst). In some aspects, different SS blocks may be beamformed differently. Figure 3B As shown, the SS burst set may be sent by the wireless node periodically, such as every X milliseconds. In some aspects, the SS burst set may have a fixed length or a dynamic length, such as Figure 3B The Y milliseconds shown in .

[0056] Figure 3B The SS burst set shown in is an example of a synchronous communication set, and other synchronous communication sets can be used in conjunction with the techniques described herein. Figure 3B The SS blocks shown in are examples of synchronous communications, and other synchronous communications may be used in conjunction with the techniques described herein.

[0057] In some aspects, an SS block includes resources or synchronization channels that carry a PSS, SSS, PBCH, or other synchronization signals (e.g., a tertiary synchronization signal (TSS)). In some aspects, multiple SS blocks are included in an SS burst, and the PSS, SSS, or PBCH can be the same across each SS block in an SS burst. In some aspects, a single SS block can be included in an SS burst. In some aspects, an SS block can be at least four symbol periods in length, with each symbol carrying one or more of the PSS (e.g., occupying one symbol), the SSS (e.g., occupying one symbol), or the PBCH (e.g., occupying two symbols).

[0058] In some aspects, the symbols of the SS blocks are consecutive, such as Figure 3B As shown. In some aspects, the symbols of the SS blocks are non-contiguous. Similarly, in some aspects, one or more SS blocks of an SS burst may be transmitted in contiguous radio resources (e.g., contiguous symbol periods) during one or more time slots. Additionally or alternatively, one or more SS blocks of an SS burst may be transmitted in non-contiguous radio resources.

[0059] In some aspects, an SS burst may have a burst duration, during which the base station transmits SS blocks of the SS burst according to the burst duration. In other words, the SS blocks may be repeated during each SS burst. In some aspects, an SS burst set may have a burst set periodicity, and the base station transmits SS blocks of the SS burst according to a fixed burst set periodicity. In other words, the SS burst may be repeated during each SS burst set.

[0060] The base station may send system information, such as system information blocks (SIBs), on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in some time slots. The base station may send control information / data on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) during C symbol periods of a time slot, where C is configurable for each time slot. The base station may send traffic data or other data on the PDSCH in the remaining symbol periods of each time slot.

[0061] As indicated above, as the number of devices (such as sensors, actuators, PLCs, UEs, etc.) in an IIoT deployment increases, the amount of overhead consumed by control signaling in the IIoT deployment may result in increased latency in the IIoT deployment, may result in a reduced ability to meet the reliability requirements of the IIoT deployment, and so on. One type of signaling that may lead to inefficient consumption of overhead in an IIoT deployment may include signaling associated with configuring and tracking HARQ feedback in an IIoT deployment. In some cases, a transmitter (such as a UE or a BS) may provide feedback associated with a data communication received from the transmitter to a receiver (such as a UE or a BS). This feedback may include, for example, HARQ feedback (such as an ACK or NACK for the data communication). The BS may configure multiple HARQ processes, which may be used by the UE and the BS to track HARQ feedback on the downlink and uplink. The use of multiple HARQ processes may be used to reduce delays between subsequent data communication transmissions because, while the receiver is decoding the data communication and determining HARQ feedback for the HARQ process, the transmitter may simultaneously send another data communication associated with another HARQ process. This permits back-to-back scheduling of data communication transmissions, where a sender would typically have to wait to receive an ACK for a sent data communication before sending another data communication.

[0062] While the use of multiple HARQ processes can reduce the delay between data packet transmissions, the number of bits required to track the HARQ process identifier associated with each HARQ process consumes a significant amount of signaling overhead, such as signaling overhead in downlink control information (DCI). Consequently, an increase in DCI size can result in increased latency and decreased reliability in IIoT deployments (e.g., fewer DCI communications and corresponding data packets can be sent in an IIoT time period, decoding time for DCI communications can increase, etc.). This can cause issues with the latency and reliability requirements of IIoT deployments, which in turn can lead to lost data communications and / or other issues.

[0063] Some aspects described herein provide techniques and apparatus for HARQ process identification. Some aspects described herein can be implemented in various scenarios in which packets are sent and received with delay constraints, such as IIoT and other such scenarios. In some aspects, the delay-constrained time period can be self-contained in that the transmission (or retransmission) of data communications to be sent in the delay-constrained time period is contained within the delay-constrained time period and does not span more than the delay-constrained time period. Accordingly, in order to reduce the signaling overhead of implementing HARQ in a delay-constrained deployment, the BS can determine the number of HARQ processes to be configured for the delay-constrained time period based at least in part on the number of data communications to be sent by the transmitter (such as the BS or UE) to the receiver (e.g., the BS or UE) in the delay-constrained time period. This is possible because the transmission (or retransmission) of the data communications will be initiated and completed in the same delay-constrained time period, which means that the receiver and transmitter do not have to track the same HARQ process for data communications across multiple delay-constrained time periods. Thus, the number of HARQ processes required for a receiver in a delay-constrained deployment can be configured by the transmitter to be the same as the number of data transmissions that the transmitter will send to the receiver in a single delay-constrained time period. Accordingly, because the number of data transmissions in a given delay-constrained time period can be small relative to the number of transmissions that the transmitter and receiver can track in a non-delay-constrained deployment, configuring the number of HARQ processes based at least in part on the number of data communications that the transmitter will send to the receiver in the delay-constrained time period can reduce (or eliminate) the overhead of configuring and tracking HARQ in a delay-constrained deployment, which improves reliability in a delay-constrained deployment.

[0064] Figure 4 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a delay-constrained deployment according to various aspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, the delay-constrained deployment 400 can be an IIoT deployment or another type of deployment in which packets are sent and received under delay constraints. As shown, the delay-constrained deployment 400 can include a management system 405, one or more human-machine interfaces (HMIs) 410, one or more programmable logic circuits (PLCs) 415, and one or more sensors / actuators (S / As) 420.

[0065] Management system 405 may include a computer, such as an industrial personal computer or network controller 130, among other possibilities / examples. Management system 405 may perform controller programming, software and security management, or long-term key performance indicator (KPI) monitoring, among other possibilities / examples. In some aspects, management system 405 may perform one or more of the operations described herein as being performed by network controller 130.

[0066] HMI 410 may include a user device such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a wearable device (such as a smartwatch or smart glasses, among other possibilities / examples), a mobile phone, a virtual reality device or an augmented reality device, among other possibilities / examples. HMI 410 may provide control of a machine (e.g., S / A 420) at the factory floor level. In some aspects, HMI 410 may provide for changing the operating mode of S / A 420.

[0067] The PLC 415 may include a processor (such as a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component). The PLC 415 may be associated with the BS 110, which communicates with the S / A 420 using uplink / downlink communication. In some aspects, the PLC 415 may be associated with the UE 120, which communicates with the S / A 420 using sidelink communication. In some aspects, the PLC 415 may issue commands and receive sensor inputs from the S / A 420 in real time or near real time. In some aspects, the PLC 415 and the management system 405 may be associated with a backhaul (such as a wireless or wired backhaul).

[0068] The S / A 420 may include a sensor, an actuator, or another type of IIoT device. For example, the S / A 420 may be a sensor or actuator, such as a rotary motor, a linear servo mechanism, or a position sensor, among other possibilities / examples. In some aspects, the S / A 420 may include the UE 120, be included in the UE 120, or be associated with the UE 120 (such that the S / A 420 communicates with the UE 120 using sidelink communication). In some aspects, the S / A 420 may be associated with a radio interface via which it communicates with a given PLC 415. The radio interface may be scheduled by the BS 110 associated with the PLC 415 and / or configured based at least in part on configuration information provided by the management system 405. In some aspects, the radio interface may carry data communications between the S / A 420 (or an associated UE 120) and the BS 110, such as data communications carrying status update reports associated with the S / A 420, or data communications carrying sensor measurements associated with the S / A 420, among other possibilities / examples. Additionally, the radio interface may carry HARQ feedback associated with data communications between the S / A 420 (or an associated UE 120) and the BS 110, such as an ACK associated with the data communication (which may be an indication that the data communication was successfully received and decoded) or a NACK associated with the data communication (which may be an indication that the data communication was not successfully decoded).

[0069] Figure 5A and Figure 5B 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a delay-constrained time period in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Other delay-constrained time periods may be used with the techniques described herein. The delay-constrained time period may include a duration (such as 1 ms or another example duration) during which various communications are sent between a BS (such as BS 110) and one or more UEs (such as UE 120) via a radio interface. The BS and one or more UEs may be associated with a delay-constrained deployment, such as Figure 4 The example delay-constrained deployment or another type of delay-constrained deployment is illustrated in FIG. In some aspects, the delay-constrained deployment is an IIoT deployment, in which case the example delay-constrained time period can be an IIoT time period.

[0070] In some aspects, the delay-constrained time period may include one or more symbols, one or more time slots, or a combination thereof, during which the BS may send one or more downlink data communications to one or more UEs, and one or more UEs may send one or more uplink data communications to the BS. Furthermore, the one or more UEs may send HARQ feedback (such as ACK or NACK) for the one or more downlink data communications during the delay-constrained time period, and the BS may send HARQ feedback for the one or more uplink data communications during the delay-constrained time period.

[0071] As an example above, Figure 5A FIG2 illustrates an example of a delay-constrained time period in which a BS communicates with a plurality of UEs (such as UE 1 and UE 2). Figure 5A As shown, the BS can send downlink data communications to UE 1 and downlink data communications to UE 2 during the delay-constrained time period. Additionally, during the same delay-constrained time period, UE 1 can send uplink data communications to the BS and UE 2 can send uplink data communications to the BS. Figure 5A In the example illustrated in , HARQ processes are configured on both the uplink and downlink for both UE 1 and UE 2. Accordingly, the BS can send HARQ feedback for uplink data communications received from UE 1 and HARQ feedback for uplink data communications received from UE 2 in the same delay-constrained time period. Furthermore, again, in the same delay-constrained time period, UE 1 can send HARQ feedback for downlink data communications received from the BS, and UE 2 can send HARQ feedback for downlink data communications received from the BS.

[0072] Figure 5B FIG. 2 illustrates another example of a delay-constrained time period in which a BS communicates with a plurality of UEs (such as UE 1, UE 2, and UE 3). Figure 5B As shown, the BS can send downlink data communications to UE 1, send downlink data communications to UE 2, and send downlink data communications to UE 3 during the delay-constrained time period. During the same delay-constrained time period, UE 1 can send uplink data communications to the BS, UE 2 can send uplink data communications to the BS, and UE 3 can send uplink data communications to the BS. Figure 5BIn the example illustrated in , the HARQ process is configured on the uplink for UE 1, and the HARQ process is configured on the downlink for UE 2. Accordingly, in the same delay-constrained time period, the BS may send HARQ feedback for uplink data communications received from UE 2, and UE 1 may send HARQ feedback for downlink data communications received from the BS.

[0073] In some cases, HARQ retransmissions may be performed in the same delay-constrained time period as the data communication for which a NACK was received. However, the IIoT time period may be self-contained in that if a data communication to be sent in a delay-constrained time period cannot be decoded within the time allotment for the delay-constrained time period, or if a retransmission of the data communication cannot be performed within the time allotment for the delay-constrained time period, the data communication is discarded and not retransmitted in the next delay-constrained time period. In other words, the delay-constrained time period may be self-contained in that the transmission (or retransmission) of a data communication to be sent in the delay-constrained time period is contained within the delay-constrained time period and does not span more than the delay-constrained time period.

[0074] Figure 6A and Figure 6B is a diagram 600 illustrating one or more examples of HARQ process identification in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 6A and Figure 6B The operations shown in FIG are described as being performed by a receiver (such as UE 120) and a transmitter (such as BS 110). In some aspects, UE 120 and BS 110 may be associated with a delay-constrained deployment, such as Figure 4 10. In some aspects, the delay-constrained deployment may be an IIoT deployment. In some aspects, the UE 120 and the BS 110 may communicate via a radio interface of a wireless network, such as the wireless network 100.

[0075] In some aspects, a receiver and a transmitter may communicate within one or more delay-constrained time periods, such as the example delay-constrained time periods illustrated in FIG5 or another type of delay-constrained time period. In some cases, the transmitter may configure one or more HARQ processes for transmitting data communications within the delay-constrained time periods. In some aspects, the one or more delay-constrained time periods may be one or more IIoT time periods.

[0076] As shown in FIG6 , and in a first operation 602, a transmitter may send an indication of the number of HARQ processes to a receiver to configure one or more HARQ processes. The number of HARQ processes may be the number of HARQ processes to be used in each delay-constrained time period for tracking HARQ feedback for uplink data communications sent by the transmitter to the receiver.

[0077] As indicated above, the delay-constrained time period can be self-contained in that the transmission (or retransmission) of a data communication to be sent in the delay-constrained time period is contained within the delay-constrained time period and does not span more than the delay-constrained time period. Accordingly, to reduce the signaling overhead of implementing HARQ in a delay-constrained deployment, the transmitter can determine the number of HARQ processes based at least in part on the number of data communications that the transmitter will send to the receiver in the delay-constrained time period. This is possible because the transmission (or retransmission) of the data communication will be initiated and completed in the same delay-constrained time period, which means that the receiver and transmitter do not have to track the same HARQ process for the data communication across multiple delay-constrained time periods. Therefore, the number of HARQ processes required for the receiver in a delay-constrained deployment can be configured by the transmitter to be the same as the number of downlink data transmissions that the transmitter will send to the receiver in a single delay-constrained time period.

[0078] In some aspects, a transmitter may indicate the number of HARQ processes to a receiver in one or more signaling communications (such as a DCI communication, a radio resource control (RRC) communication, or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) communication, among other possibilities / examples). In some aspects, the indication of the number of HARQ processes may include an indication of the number of bits reserved for identifying the HARQ processes in a downlink grant. In other words, the greater the number of bits, the greater the number of HARQ processes, and the fewer the number of bits, the fewer the number of HARQ processes. For example, reserving 0 bits may indicate that 1 HARQ process is configured, reserving 2 bits may indicate that 4 HARQ processes are configured, reserving 4 bits may indicate that 16 HARQ processes are configured, among other possibilities / examples. Accordingly, configuring the number of HARQ processes based at least in part on the number of data communications to be sent by the transmitter to the receiver in a delay-constrained time period may reduce (or eliminate) the number of bits reserved for identifying the HARQ processes in a downlink grant, thereby reducing the size of the downlink grant and improving the reliability of the downlink grant.

[0079] In some aspects, a transmitter may explicitly indicate the number of HARQ processes to a receiver. For example, one or more signaling communications may specify the number of bits reserved for identifying a HARQ process in a downlink grant. In this case, the receiver may determine the number of HARQ processes based at least in part on the explicit indication of the number of bits in the one or more signaling communications.

[0080] In some aspects, a transmitter may implicitly indicate the number of HARQ processes to a receiver. For example, one or more signaling communications may indicate that the receiver is to operate in a particular mode, such as an IIoT mode or a similar mode. The IIoT mode or a similar mode may be associated with a number of bits reserved for identifying a HARQ process in a downlink grant. Accordingly, the receiver may determine the number of HARQ processes based at least in part on the indication identifying the IIoT mode or a similar mode and the association of the number of bits identifying the IIoT mode or a similar mode.

[0081] For another example, the implicit indication may include an indication of a formula or algorithm for determining the number of bits, such as floor(log2N) or ceil(log2N), where N may correspond to the number of data communications that the transmitter will send to the receiver within the delay-constrained time period (which may be indicated in one or more signaling communications or other types of communications). In this case, the receiver may determine the number of HARQ processes by determining the number of bits based at least in part on the formula or algorithm indicated in the one or more signaling communications.

[0082] In some aspects, the transmitter may configure the receiver to monitor other types of downlink traffic (e.g., traffic other than data communications sent during the delay-constrained time period), such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) traffic, URLLC traffic, or other types of downlink traffic. In this case, the implicit indication may include an indication of the total number of bits configured for all types of downlink traffic, and the receiver may identify a first subset of bits of the total number of bits for HARQ processes to be used for the delay-constrained deployment and a second subset of bits of the total number of bits for HARQ processes to be used for other types of downlink traffic. In some aspects, the receiver may determine the first subset of bits of the total number of bits based at least in part on the number of data communications that the transmitter will send to the receiver during the delay-constrained time period (which may be indicated in one or more signaling communications or other types of communications).

[0083] like Figure 6AAs further shown, and in a second operation 604, the transmitter may send a downlink grant to the receiver. The downlink grant may include a dynamic grant, a semi-persistently scheduled grant, a configured grant, or another type of downlink grant that schedules downlink transmission of data communication in a delay-constrained time period. The downlink grant may be included in a DCI communication, an RRC communication, a MAC-CE communication, or another type of signaling communication. If the downlink grant is included in a DCI communication, the DCI communication may include a DCI communication in format 1_1 (sometimes referred to as full DL DCI), a DCI communication in format 1_0 (sometimes referred to as fallback DL DCI), or a DCI communication in another format.

[0084] In some aspects, if the number of HARQ processes configured for a downlink receiver in a delay-constrained time period is greater than one, the downlink grant may include an indication of a HARQ process associated with the data communication from among the plurality of HARQ processes configured for the downlink receiver in the delay-constrained time period. The indication of the HARQ process may include a HARQ process identifier or another type of identifier. The HARQ process identifier may be indicated by one or more bits in the signaling communication including the downlink grant. As indicated above, the number of one or more bits may be based at least in part on the number of data communications to be sent by the transmitter to the receiver in the delay-constrained time period.

[0085] In some aspects, if the number of HARQ processes configured for a receiver on the downlink during the delay-constrained time period is one, the downlink grant itself can be used as an indication of the HARQ process. In this case, no bits are reserved for the HARQ process identifier in the signaling communications including the downlink grant.

[0086] like Figure 6B As shown, and in a third operation 606, the transmitter may send the data communication scheduled by the downlink grant to the receiver. For example, the transmitter may send the data communication during the time period of the delay constraint. In some aspects, the transmitter may send the data communication on a downlink channel (such as a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or other type of downlink channel).

[0087] like Figure 6BAs further shown, and in a fourth operation 608, the receiver may receive a data communication during the delay-constrained time period and may identify a HARQ process associated with the data communication. In some aspects, if the number of HARQ processes configured for the receiver on the downlink during the delay-constrained time period is one, the receiver may identify the HARQ process based at least in part on receiving a downlink grant for the data communication. In other words, if no bits are reserved for a HARQ process identifier in a signaling communication including a downlink grant, the receiver may determine that one HARQ process is configured for the delay-constrained time period and may determine that the HARQ process is associated with the data communication.

[0088] In some aspects, if the number of HARQ processes configured for a receiver on a downlink during a delay-constrained time period is greater than one, the receiver may receive a signaling communication including a downlink grant and may identify a HARQ process associated with a data communication based at least in part on an indication of the HARQ process in the signaling communication. As indicated above, the indication of the HARQ process may include one or more bits reserved for indicating a HARQ process identifier or another similar identifier associated with the HARQ process. Accordingly, the receiver may identify the HARQ process by identifying the HARQ process identifier associated with the HARQ process indicated in the signaling communication. In some aspects, the HARQ process identifier may be based at least in part on the transmit timing of the data communication during the delay-constrained time period. For example, the HARQ process identifier may correspond to a timeslot number in which the data communication will be transmitted, may correspond to a symbol number in which the data communication will be transmitted, etc.

[0089] like Figure 6BAs further shown, and in a fifth operation 610, for the data communication, the receiver may send HARQ feedback associated with the HARQ process. The receiver may send the HARQ feedback in the delay-constrained time period in which the data communication is sent. The HARQ feedback may include an indication of a HARQ process identifier associated with the HARQ process associated with the data communication (if the number of HARQ processes configured for the receiver on the downlink in the delay-constrained time period is greater than one), or the HARQ process itself may be an indication of the HARQ process associated with the data communication (if the number of HARQ processes configured for the receiver on the downlink in the delay-constrained time period is one). In some aspects, the identifier of the HARQ process in the HARQ feedback may be implicit based on the order or position of the HARQ feedback bits. For example, if ACK / NACK bits for all DL HARQ processes are sent in a single UL transmission, the Nth ACK / NACK bit may correspond to the Nth HARQ process. In another example, the ACK / NACK bits for the Nth DL HARQ process may be transmitted along with the Nth UL HARQ process transmission (e.g., as UCI multiplexed on the PUSCH). Other examples involving hybrid combinations of the above two examples are also possible (e.g., when ACK / NACK bits are transmitted in multiple separate UL transmissions, but at least one of these UL transmissions carries more than one ACK / NACK bit). The HARQ feedback may include an ACK for the data communication (e.g., if the receiver successfully decodes the data communication) or a NACK for the data communication (e.g., if the receiver cannot successfully decode the data communication). If the HARQ feedback includes a NACK, the transmitter may perform a retransmission of the data communication in the same delay-constrained time period.

[0090] In this manner, to reduce the signaling overhead of implementing HARQ in a delay-constrained deployment, the transmitter can determine the number of HARQ processes to configure for a delay-constrained period based at least in part on the number of data communications that the transmitter will send to the receiver in the delay-constrained time period. This is possible because the transmission (or retransmission) of the data communication will be initiated and completed in the same delay-constrained time period, meaning that the receiver and transmitter do not have to track the same HARQ process for data communications across multiple delay-constrained time periods. Therefore, the number of HARQ processes required for the receiver in a delay-constrained deployment can be configured by the transmitter to be the same as the number of downlink data transmissions that the transmitter will send to the receiver in a single delay-constrained time period. Accordingly, because the number of downlink data transmissions in a given delay-constrained time period can be small relative to the number of downlink transmissions that the transmitter and receiver can track in a non-delay-constrained deployment, configuring the number of HARQ processes based at least in part on the number of data communications that the transmitter will send to the receiver in the delay-constrained time period can reduce (or eliminate) the overhead of configuring and tracking HARQ in a delay-constrained deployment, thereby improving reliability in delay-constrained deployments.

[0091] Figure 7A and Figure 7B is a diagram 700 illustrating one or more examples of HARQ process identification in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 7A and Figure 7B The operations shown in FIG. 1 are described as being performed by a transmitter (such as UE 120) and a receiver (such as BS 110). In some aspects, UE 120 and BS 110 may be associated with a delay-constrained deployment, such as Figure 4 10. In some aspects, the delay-constrained deployment may be an IIoT deployment. In some aspects, the UE 120 and the BS 110 may communicate via a radio interface of a wireless network, such as the wireless network 100.

[0092] In some aspects, the receiver and transmitter may communicate in one or more delay-constrained time periods, such as Figure 5A and Figure 5B

[0045] The example delay-constrained time period illustrated in

[0046] or another type of delay-constrained time period. In some cases, the receiver may configure one or more HARQ processes for the transmitter to send uplink data communications during the delay-constrained time period. In some aspects, the one or more delay-constrained time periods are IIoT-type periods.

[0093] like Figure 7AAs shown, in a first operation 702, the receiver may send an indication of the number of HARQ processes to the transmitter to configure one or more HARQ processes. The number of HARQ processes may be the number of HARQ processes to be used in each delay-constrained time period for tracking HARQ feedback for uplink data communications sent by the transmitter to the receiver.

[0094] As indicated above, the delay-constrained time period can be self-contained in that the transmission (or retransmission) of data communications to be sent in the delay-constrained time period is contained within the delay-constrained time period and does not span more than the delay-constrained time period. Accordingly, in order to reduce the signaling overhead of implementing HARQ in an IIoT deployment, the receiver can determine the number of HARQ processes based at least in part on the number of data communications that the transmitter will send to the receiver in the delay-constrained time period. This is possible because the transmission (or retransmission) of data communications will be initiated and completed in the same delay-constrained time period, which means that the receiver and transmitter do not have to track the same HARQ process for data communications across multiple delay-constrained time periods. Therefore, the number of HARQ processes required for the receiver in a delay-constrained deployment can be configured by the receiver to be the same as the number of uplink data transmissions that the transmitter will send to the receiver in a single delay-constrained time period.

[0095] In some aspects, a receiver may indicate the number of HARQ processes to a transmitter in one or more signaling communications (such as a DCI communication, an RRC communication, or a MAC-CE communication, among other possibilities / examples). In some aspects, the indication of the number of HARQ processes may include an indication of the number of bits reserved for identifying the HARQ processes in an uplink grant. In other words, the greater the number of bits, the greater the number of HARQ processes, and the fewer the number of bits, the fewer the number of HARQ processes. For example, reserving 0 bits may indicate that 1 HARQ process is configured, reserving 2 bits may indicate that 4 HARQ processes are configured, reserving 4 bits may indicate that 16 HARQ processes are configured, among other possibilities / examples. Accordingly, configuring the number of HARQ processes based at least in part on the number of data communications that the transmitter will send to the receiver in a delay-constrained time period may reduce (or eliminate) the number of bits reserved for identifying the HARQ processes in an uplink grant, thereby reducing the size of the uplink grant and improving the reliability of the uplink grant.

[0096] In some aspects, the receiver may explicitly indicate the number of HARQ processes to the transmitter. For example, one or more signaling communications may specify the number of bits reserved for identifying HARQ processes in an uplink grant. In this case, the transmitter may determine the number of HARQ processes based at least in part on the explicit indication of the number of bits in the one or more signaling communications.

[0097] In some aspects, a receiver may implicitly indicate the number of HARQ processes to a transmitter. For example, one or more signaling communications may indicate that the transmitter will operate in a particular mode, such as an IIoT mode or a similar mode. The IIoT mode or a similar mode may be associated with a number of bits reserved for identifying a HARQ process in an uplink grant. Accordingly, the transmitter may determine the number of HARQ processes based at least in part on the indication identifying the IIoT mode or a similar mode and the association of the number of bits identifying the IIoT mode or a similar mode.

[0098] For another example, the implicit indication may include an indication of a formula or algorithm for determining the number of bits, such as floor(log2N) or ceil(log2N), where N may correspond to the number of data communications that the transmitter will send to the receiver within the delay-constrained time period (which may be indicated in one or more signaling communications or other types of communications). In this case, the transmitter may determine the number of HARQ processes by determining the number of bits based at least in part on the formula or algorithm indicated in the one or more signaling communications.

[0099] In some aspects, the receiver may configure the transmitter to transmit other types of uplink traffic (e.g., traffic in addition to data communications transmitted during the delay-constrained time period), such as eMBB traffic, URLLC traffic, or other types of traffic. In this case, the implicit indication may include an indication of the total number of bits configured for all types of uplink traffic, and the transmitter may identify a first subset of bits of the total number of bits for HARQ processes to be used for the delay-constrained deployment and a second subset of bits of the total number of bits for HARQ processes to be used for other types of uplink traffic. In some aspects, the receiver may determine the first subset of bits of the total number of bits based at least in part on the number of data communications to be transmitted by the transmitter to the receiver during the delay-constrained time period (which may be indicated in one or more signaling communications or other types of communications).

[0100] like Figure 7AAs further shown, and in a second operation 704, the receiver may send an uplink grant to the transmitter. The uplink grant may include a dynamic grant, a semi-persistently scheduled grant, a configured grant, or another type of uplink grant that schedules uplink transmission of data communication in a delay-constrained time period. The uplink grant may be included in a DCI communication, an RRC communication, a MAC-CE communication, or another type of signaling communication. If the uplink grant is included in a DCI communication, the DCI communication may include a DCI communication in format 0_1 (sometimes referred to as full UL DCI), a DCI communication in format 0_0 (sometimes referred to as fallback UL DCI), or a DCI communication in another DCI format.

[0101] In some aspects, if the number of HARQ processes configured for a transmitter on the uplink during a delay-constrained time period is greater than one, the uplink grant may include an indication of a HARQ process associated with a data communication from among the plurality of HARQ processes configured for the transmitter on the uplink during the delay-constrained time period. The indication of the HARQ process may include a HARQ process identifier or another type of identifier. The HARQ process identifier may be indicated by one or more bits in the signaling communication including the uplink grant. As indicated above, the number of one or more bits may be based at least in part on the number of data communications to be transmitted by the transmitter to the receiver during the delay-constrained time period.

[0102] In some aspects, if the number of HARQ processes configured for the transmitter on the uplink during the delay-constrained time period is one, the uplink grant itself can be used as an indication of the HARQ process. In this case, no bits are reserved for the HARQ process identifier in the signaling communications including the uplink grant.

[0103] like Figure 7B As shown, in a third operation 706, the transmitter may receive an uplink grant and may identify a HARQ process associated with the data communication scheduled by the uplink grant. In some aspects, if the number of HARQ processes configured for the receiver on the uplink in the delay-constrained time period is one, the transmitter may identify the HARQ process based at least in part on receiving the uplink grant for the data communication. In other words, if no bits are reserved for a HARQ process identifier in the signaling communication including the uplink grant, the transmitter may determine that one HARQ process is configured for the delay-constrained time period and may determine that the HARQ process is associated with the data communication.

[0104] In some aspects, if the number of HARQ processes configured for a receiver on the uplink during a delay-constrained time period is greater than one, the transmitter may receive a signaling communication including an uplink grant and may identify the HARQ process associated with the data communication based at least in part on an indication of the HARQ process in the signaling communication. As indicated above, the indication of the HARQ process may include one or more bits reserved for indicating a HARQ process identifier or another similar identifier associated with the HARQ process. Accordingly, the transmitter may identify the HARQ process by identifying the HARQ process identifier associated with the HARQ process indicated in the signaling communication. In some aspects, the HARQ process identifier may be based at least in part on the transmit timing of the data communication during the delay-constrained time period. For example, the HARQ process identifier may correspond to a timeslot number in which the data communication is to be transmitted, may correspond to a symbol number in which the data communication is to be transmitted, etc.

[0105] like Figure 7B As further shown, and in a fourth operation 708, the transmitter may transmit the data communication scheduled by the uplink grant to the receiver. For example, the transmitter may transmit the data communication during a delay-constrained time period. In some aspects, the transmitter may transmit the data communication on an uplink channel, such as a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or another type of uplink channel. The data communication transmitted in the time-domain resources and frequency-domain resources scheduled in the uplink grant is associated with a HARQ process indicated in a scheduling message, such as a UL DCI, that identifies the resources granted for uplink transmission.

[0106] like Figure 7BAs further shown, and in a fifth operation 710, the receiver may receive a data communication and may send HARQ feedback associated with a HARQ process for the data communication. The receiver may send the HARQ feedback during the delay-constrained time period in which the data communication was sent. The HARQ feedback may include an indication of a HARQ process identifier associated with the HARQ process associated with the data communication (if the number of HARQ processes configured for the receiver on the uplink during the delay-constrained time period is greater than one), or the HARQ process itself may be an indication of the HARQ process associated with the data communication (if the number of HARQ processes configured for the receiver on the uplink during the delay-constrained time period is one). The HARQ feedback may include an ACK for the data communication (e.g., if the receiver successfully decoded the data communication) or a NACK for the data communication (e.g., if the receiver was unable to successfully decode the data communication). If the HARQ feedback includes a NACK, the transmitter may retransmit the data communication during the same delay-constrained time period. In some aspects, instead of or in addition to explicit ACK or NACK bit indications, HARQ feedback may be conveyed using a new data indicator (NDI) bit that indicates whether new data is being sent or a redundant version of previously sent data is being retransmitted.

[0107] In this manner, to reduce the signaling overhead of implementing HARQ in a delay-constrained deployment, a receiver can determine the number of HARQ processes to configure for a delay-constrained period based at least in part on the number of data communications that the transmitter will send to the receiver in the delay-constrained time period. This is possible because the transmission (or retransmission) of the data communication will be initiated and completed in the same delay-constrained time period, meaning that the receiver and transmitter do not have to track the same HARQ process for data communications across multiple delay-constrained time periods. Therefore, the number of HARQ processes required for the receiver in a delay-constrained deployment can be configured by the receiver to be the same as the number of downlink data transmissions that the transmitter will send to the receiver in a single delay-constrained time period. Accordingly, because the number of downlink data transmissions in a given delay-constrained time period can be small relative to the number of downlink transmissions that the transmitter and receiver can track in a non-delay-constrained deployment, configuring the number of HARQ processes based at least in part on the number of data communications that the transmitter will send to the receiver in the delay-constrained time period can reduce (or eliminate) the overhead of configuring and tracking HARQ in a delay-constrained deployment, thereby improving reliability in delay-constrained deployments.

[0108] Figure 8is a diagram illustrating an example process 800, for example, performed by a receiver, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process 800 is an example of a receiver, such as UE 120 or BS 110, performing operations associated with HARQ process identification.

[0109] like Figure 8 As shown, in some aspects, process 800 may include, for data communications received from a transmitter during a delay-constrained time period, identifying a HARQ process from one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period, the number of the one or more HARQ processes being based at least in part on a number of data communications that the receiver will receive from the transmitter during the delay-constrained time period (block 810). For example, a receiver (e.g., using transmit processor 220, receive processor 238, controller / processor 240, memory 242, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, controller / processor 280, memory 282, and other possibilities / examples) may identify a HARQ process from one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period for data communications received from the transmitter during the delay-constrained time period, as described above. In some aspects, the number of the one or more HARQ processes may be based at least in part on the number of data communications that the receiver will receive from the transmitter during the delay-constrained time period.

[0110] like Figure 8 As further shown, in some aspects, process 800 may include sending HARQ feedback associated with the HARQ process to the transmitter based at least in part on the data communication (block 820). For example, the receiver (e.g., using transmit processor 220, receive processor 238, controller / processor 240, memory 242, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, controller / processor 280, memory 282, and other possibilities / examples) may send HARQ feedback associated with the HARQ process to the transmitter based at least in part on the data communication, as described above.

[0111] Process 800 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0112] In a first additional aspect, the number of data communications is one data communication, and process 800 further includes determining the number of one or more HARQ processes as one HARQ process based at least in part on the indication that the number of data communications is one data communication, and identifying the HARQ process includes identifying the HARQ process based at least in part on determining the number of one or more HARQ processes as one HARQ process. In a second additional aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the receiver is a UE, and process 800 further includes receiving an explicit indication of the number of the one or more HARQ processes. In a third additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the receiver is a UE, and process 800 further includes receiving an implicit indication of the number of the one or more HARQ processes. In a fourth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, the implicit indication includes an indication that the transmitter is operating in IIoT mode, the IIoT mode being associated with the number of the one or more HARQ processes.

[0113] In a fifth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 4, the implicit indication includes an indication of a number of data communications, and process 800 further includes determining a number of one or more HARQ processes based at least in part on the implicit indication. In a sixth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 5, the one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period include a first subset of HARQ processes among a plurality of HARQ processes configured for the transmitter and a second subset of HARQ processes among a plurality of HARQ processes configured for eMBB traffic or URLLC traffic. In a seventh additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 6, the HARQ feedback includes an ACK for the data communication or a NACK for the data communication.

[0114] In an eighth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 7, the transmitter comprises a UE or a BS. In a ninth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 8, the amount of the one or more HARQ processes is greater than one HARQ process, and the HARQ feedback comprises an explicit indication of a HARQ process identifier associated with the HARQ process. In a tenth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 9, the HARQ process identifier is based at least in part on a transmit timing of data communication in a delay-constrained time period. In an eleventh additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 10, the amount of the one or more HARQ processes is one HARQ process, and the HARQ feedback is an implicit indication of the HARQ process.

[0115] In a twelfth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 11, the receiver is a UE, and process 800 further comprises receiving an indication of the number of one or more HARQ processes, the indication comprising an indication of the number of bits allocated for a HARQ process identifier associated with the HARQ process, and identifying the HARQ process comprises identifying the HARQ process identifier based at least in part on the number of bits in a DCI communication associated with the data communication. In a thirteenth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 12, the DCI communication comprises a downlink grant. In a fourteenth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 13, the receiver is a base station, and process 800 further comprises sending the indication of the HARQ process to the transmitter in a DCI communication, the DCI communication comprising an uplink grant, and receiving a data communication from the transmitter indicating the HARQ process.

[0116] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating an example process 900, for example, performed by a transmitter, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process 900 is an example of a transmitter (such as BS 110 or UE 120) performing operations associated with HARQ process identification.

[0117] like Figure 9 As shown, in some aspects, process 900 may include sending a data communication to a receiver during a delay-constrained time period (block 910). For example, a transmitter (e.g., using transmit processor 220, receive processor 238, controller / processor 240, memory 242, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, controller / processor 280, memory 282, and other possibilities / examples) may send a data communication to a receiver during a delay-constrained time period, as described above.

[0118] like Figure 9As further shown, in some aspects, process 900 may include, for data communications, receiving HARQ feedback associated with one or more HARQ processes configured for a delay-constrained time period, the number of the one or more HARQ processes being based at least in part on a number of data communications that the transmitter will transmit to the receiver during the delay-constrained time period (block 920). For example, the transmitter (e.g., using transmit processor 220, receive processor 238, controller / processor 240, memory 242, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, controller / processor 280, memory 282, and other possibilities / examples) may receive HARQ feedback associated with one or more HARQ processes configured for a delay-constrained time period, as described above. In some aspects, the number of the one or more HARQ processes is based at least in part on the number of data communications that the transmitter will transmit to the receiver during the delay-constrained time period.

[0119] Process 900 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0120] In a first additional aspect, the transmitter is a base station, and process 900 further comprises: sending an explicit indication of the number of one or more HARQ processes in a downlink grant. In a second additional aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the transmitter is a base station, and process 900 further comprises: sending an implicit indication of the number of one or more HARQ processes. In a third additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the implicit indication comprises an indication that the receiver is operating in an IIoT mode, the IIoT mode being associated with the number of one or more HARQ processes. In a fourth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, the implicit indication comprises an indication of the number of data communications.

[0121] In a fifth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 4, the one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period include a first subset of HARQ processes among the plurality of HARQ processes configured for the transmitter and a second subset of HARQ processes among the plurality of HARQ processes configured for eMBB traffic or URLLC traffic. In a sixth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 5, the HARQ feedback includes an ACK for the data communication or a NACK for the data communication. In a seventh additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 6, the number of the one or more HARQ processes is greater than one HARQ process, and the HARQ feedback includes an explicit indication of a HARQ process identifier associated with the HARQ process. In an eighth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 7, the HARQ process identifier is based at least in part on the transmit timing of the data communication in the delay-constrained time period. In a ninth additional aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eighth aspects, the number of the one or more HARQ processes is one HARQ process, and the HARQ feedback is an implicit indication of the HARQ process.

[0122] although Figure 9 Example blocks of process 900 are shown, but in some aspects process 900 may include blocks other than Figure 9 Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks in process 900 may be executed in parallel.

[0123] Figure 10 1 is a block diagram of an example apparatus 1000 for wireless communication according to various aspects of the present disclosure. Apparatus 1000 may be a receiver (such as UE 120 or BS 110), or a receiver may include apparatus 1000. In some aspects, apparatus 1000 includes a receiving component 1002, a communication manager 1004, and a transmitting component 1006, which may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses). As shown, apparatus 1000 may use receiving component 1002 and transmitting component 1006 to communicate with another apparatus 1008 (such as UE 120, BS 110, or another wireless communication device).

[0124] In some aspects, the apparatus 1000 may be configured to perform the Figures 5A to 7B Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus 1000 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as Figure 8In some aspects, the apparatus 1000 may include the process 800 described above in combination with Figure 2 Describes one or more components of a receiver.

[0125] The receiving component 1002 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus 1008. The receiving component 1002 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 1000, such as the communications manager 1004. In some aspects, the receiving component 1002 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples) on the received communications and may provide the processed signals to one or more other components. In some aspects, the receiving component 1002 may include the processing described above in conjunction with Figure 2 One or more antennas, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receive processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the described receivers.

[0126] The transmitting component 1006 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus 1008. In some aspects, the communication manager 1004 may generate communications and may send the generated communications to the transmitting component 1006 for transmission to the apparatus 1008. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1006 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples) on the generated communications and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus 1008. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1006 may include the processing described above in conjunction with Figure 2 One or more antennas, modulators, transmit MIMO processors, transmit processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the described receivers. In some aspects, transmit component 1006 can be collocated with receive component 1002 in a transceiver.

[0127] The communications manager 1004 may identify a HARQ process for data communications received from the transmitter during the delay-constrained time period. The communications manager 1004 may identify the HARQ process from the one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay-constrained time period. The number of the one or more HARQ processes may be based at least in part on the number of data communications that the apparatus 1000 will receive from the apparatus 1008 during the delay-constrained time period. In some aspects, the communications manager 1004 may receive (or may cause the receiving component 1002 to receive) an explicit or implicit indication of the number of the one or more HARQ processes.

[0128] The communications manager 1004 may send (or cause the sending component 1006 to send) HARQ feedback associated with the HARQ process. The communications manager 1004 may send (or cause the sending component 1006 to send) the HARQ feedback to the apparatus 1008 based at least in part on the data communication. In some aspects, the communications manager 1004 may send (or cause the sending component 1006 to send) an indication of the HARQ process to the transmitter in a DCI communication, wherein the DCI communication includes an uplink grant. In some aspects, the communications manager 1004 may receive (or cause the receiving component 1002 to receive) a data communication from the apparatus 1008, the data communication indicating the HARQ process. In some aspects, the communications manager 1004 may include the above-described methods in conjunction with Figure 2 A controller / processor, memory, scheduler, communication unit, or a combination thereof of a receiver is described.

[0129] In some aspects, the communication manager 1004 may include a collection of components, such as the identification component 1010 or other components. Alternatively, the collection of components may be separate and distinct from the communication manager 1004. In some aspects, one or more of the components in the collection of components may include or be implemented within the following: Figure 2 The controller / processor, memory, scheduler, communication unit, or a combination thereof of the receiver described herein. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components in the component set may be at least partially implemented as software stored in the memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and may be implemented as an instruction or code that can be executed by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0130] The identifying component 1010 may identify a HARQ process for data communication from one or more HARQ processes. In some aspects, the identifying component 1010 may identify the HARQ process based at least in part on determining that the number of the one or more HARQ processes is one HARQ process. In some aspects, the receiving component 1002 may receive an indication of the number of the one or more HARQ processes, the indication comprising an indication of a number of bits allocated for a HARQ process identifier associated with the HARQ process. In some examples, the identifying component 1010 may identify the HARQ process identifier based at least in part on the number of bits in a DCI communication associated with the data communication.

[0131] exist Figure 10 The number and arrangement of components shown in FIG are provided as examples. In practice, compared to Figure 10Components shown in FIG, may have additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged differently. Figure 10 Two or more components shown in FIG may be implemented in a single component, or Figure 10 A single component shown in FIG may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Figure 10 The component collection (one or more components) shown in FIG can perform the operations described as being performed by Figure 10 One or more functions performed by another set of components shown in FIG.

[0132] Figure 11 1 is a block diagram of an example apparatus 1100 for wireless communication according to various aspects of the present disclosure. Apparatus 1100 may be a transmitter, such as UE 120 or BS 110, or the transmitter may include apparatus 1100. In some aspects, apparatus 1100 includes a receiving component 1102, a communication manager 1104, and a transmitting component 1106, which may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses). As shown, apparatus 1100 may use receiving component 1102 and transmitting component 1106 to communicate with another apparatus 1108 (such as UE 120, BS 110, or another wireless communication device).

[0133] In some aspects, the apparatus 1100 may be configured to perform the Figures 5A to 7B Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus 1100 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as Figure 9 In some aspects, the apparatus 1100 may include the process 900 described above in combination with Figure 2 Describes one or more components of a transmitter.

[0134] The receiving component 1102 may receive communications from the apparatus 1108, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof. The receiving component 1102 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 1100, such as the communications manager 1104. In some aspects, the receiving component 1102 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples) on the received communications and may provide the processed signals to one or more other components. In some aspects, the receiving component 1102 may include the processing described above in conjunction with Figure 2 One or more antennas, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receive processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the described transmitters.

[0135] The transmitting component 1106 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus 1108. In some aspects, the communication manager 1104 may generate communications and may send the generated communications to the transmitting component 1106 for transmission to the apparatus 1108. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1106 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples) on the generated communications and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus 1108. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1106 may include the above-described components in conjunction with Figure 2 One or more antennas, modulators, transmit MIMO processors, transmit processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the transmitter described. In some aspects, the transmit component 1106 can be collocated with the receive component 1102 in a transceiver.

[0136] The communications manager 1104 may send (or may cause the sending component 1106 to send) a data communication to the device 1108 during the delay constrained time period. The communications manager 1104 may receive (or may cause the sending component 1106 to receive) HARQ feedback for the data communication from the device 1108. The HARQ feedback may be associated with a HARQ process from one or more HARQ processes configured for the delay constrained time period. The number of the one or more HARQ processes is based at least in part on the number of data communications that the device 1100 will send to the device 1108 during the delay constrained time period. In some aspects, the communications manager 1104 may send (or may cause the sending component 1106 to receive) an explicit or implicit indication of the number of the one or more HARQ processes. In some aspects, the communications manager 1104 may send (or may cause the sending component 1106 to send) an indication of the number of the one or more HARQ processes in a DCI communication including a downlink grant. In some aspects, the communications manager 1104 may include the above in combination with Figure 2 A controller / processor, memory, scheduler, communication unit, or a combination thereof of the described transmitter.

[0137] In some aspects, the communication manager 1104 may include a component collection. Alternatively, the component collection may be separate and distinct from the communication manager 1104. In some aspects, one or more components in the component collection may include or be implemented within the following: Figure 2The controller / processor, memory, scheduler, communication unit, or a combination thereof described herein may be implemented as a component. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components in the component set may be at least partially implemented as software stored in the memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and may be implemented as executable by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0138] Figure 11 The number and arrangement of components shown in FIG are provided as examples. In practice, compared to Figure 11 Components shown in FIG, may have additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged differently. Figure 11 Two or more components shown in FIG may be implemented in a single component, or Figure 11 A single component shown in FIG may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Figure 11 The component collection (one or more components) shown in FIG can perform the operations described as being performed by Figure 11 One or more functions performed by another set of components shown in FIG.

[0139] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the various aspects.

[0140] As used herein, the term "component" is intended to be broadly interpreted as hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. As used herein, a processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0141] Obviously, the systems or methods described herein can be implemented in various forms of hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual dedicated control hardware or software code used to implement these systems or methods is not limiting in any respect. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems or methods described herein are described without reference to specific software code—it is understood that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems or methods based, at least in part, on the description herein.

[0142] Even if specific combinations of features are listed in the claims or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of the various aspects. In fact, many of these features can be combined in ways that are not specifically listed in the claims or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below can directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of the various aspects includes each dependent claim combined with all other claims in the claim set. The phrase "at least one" referring to a list of items refers to any combination of these items, including single members. For example, "at least one of a, b or c" is intended to cover a, b, c, ab, ac, bc and abc, as well as any combination of identical elements in multiples (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc and ccc or any other ordering of a, b and c).

[0143] Unless explicitly described as such, any element, action or instruction used in this article should not be interpreted as a key or necessary element, action or instruction. Likewise, as used herein, the articles "one" and "an" are intended to include one or more projects and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". Additionally, as used herein, the terms "set" and "group" are intended to include one or more projects (e.g., related projects, unrelated projects, a combination of related projects and unrelated projects, etc., or a combination thereof), and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". When intended to refer to only one project, phrase "only one" or similar language is used. Similarly, as used herein, the terms "have", "have", "tool", etc., or a combination thereof, are intended to be open terms. Additionally, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "based at least in part on", unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a receiver, comprising: receiving an implicit indication of a number of one or more hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes configured for a delay-constrained time period, the implicit indication comprising an indication that the transmitter operates in an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) mode; for data communications received from the transmitter during the delay-constrained time period, identifying a HARQ process from the one or more HARQ processes, the number of the one or more HARQ processes being determined at least in part based on the indication that the transmitter operates in the IIoT mode and being the same as a number of data communications that the receiver is to receive from the transmitter during the delay-constrained time period; and HARQ feedback associated with the HARQ process is sent to the transmitter based at least in part on the data communication.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The number of data communications is one data communication, wherein the method further comprises determining, based at least in part on the number of data communications being one data communication, that the number of the one or more HARQ processes is one HARQ process, and wherein identifying the HARQ process comprises identifying the HARQ process based at least in part on determining that the number of the one or more HARQ processes is one HARQ process.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The receiver is a user equipment (UE), and the method further comprises receiving an explicit indication of the number of the one or more HARQ processes.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The implicit indication includes an indication of a quantity of the data communications, and the method further includes determining a quantity of the one or more HARQ processes based at least in part on the implicit indication.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The one or more HARQ processes include a first subset of HARQ processes among a plurality of HARQ processes configured for the transmitter and a second subset of HARQ processes among the plurality of HARQ processes configured for enhanced mobile bandwidth traffic or ultra-reliable low-latency communication traffic.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein The HARQ feedback includes an acknowledgment for the data communication or a negative acknowledgment for the data communication.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein The one or more HARQ processes are greater than one HARQ process in number, and the HARQ feedback includes an explicit indication of a HARQ process identifier associated with the HARQ process.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The HARQ process identifier is based at least in part on a transmit timing of the data communication within the delay-constrained time period.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The number of the one or more HARQ processes is one HARQ process, and the HARQ feedback is an implicit indication of the HARQ process.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein The receiver is a user equipment (UE), wherein the implicit indication comprises an indication of a number of bits allocated for a HARQ process identifier associated with the HARQ process, and wherein identifying the HARQ process comprises identifying the HARQ process identifier based at least in part on the number of bits in a downlink control information (DCI) communication associated with the data communication.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The DCI communication includes a downlink grant.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein The receiver is a network node, and the method further comprises sending an indication of the HARQ process to the transmitter in a downlink control information (DCI) communication, the DCI communication comprising an uplink grant, and receiving the data communication from the transmitter, the data communication indicating the HARQ process.

13. A method of wireless communication performed by a transmitter, comprising: sending an implicit indication to a receiver of a number of one or more hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes configured for a delay-constrained time period, the implicit indication including an indication that the receiver operates in an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) mode; sending a data communication to the receiver during the delay-constrained time period; as well as For the data communications, receive HARQ feedback associated with a HARQ process from the one or more HARQ processes, a number of the one or more HARQ processes being based at least in part on the indication that the receiver is operating in the IIoT mode and being the same as a number of data communications that the transmitter will send to the receiver during the delay constrained time period.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The transmitter is a network node, and the method further comprises sending an explicit indication of the number of the one or more HARQ processes in a downlink control information (DCI) communication comprising a downlink grant.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein The implicit indication comprises an indication of a quantity of the data communication.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein The one or more HARQ processes include a first subset of HARQ processes among a plurality of HARQ processes configured for the transmitter and a second subset of HARQ processes among the plurality of HARQ processes configured for enhanced mobile bandwidth traffic or ultra-reliable low-latency communication traffic.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The one or more HARQ processes are greater than one HARQ process in number, and the HARQ feedback includes an explicit indication of a HARQ process identifier associated with the HARQ process.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein: The HARQ process identifier is based at least in part on a transmit timing of the data communication within the delay-constrained time period.

19. The method according to claim 13, wherein The number of the one or more HARQ processes is one HARQ process, and the HARQ feedback is an implicit indication of the HARQ process.

20. A receiver for wireless communication, comprising: Memory; as well as one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to: receiving an implicit indication of a number of one or more hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes configured for a delay-constrained time period, the implicit indication comprising an indication that the transmitter operates in an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) mode; for data communications received from the transmitter during the delay-constrained time period, identifying a HARQ process from the one or more HARQ processes, the number of the one or more HARQ processes being determined at least in part based on the indication that the transmitter operates in the IIoT mode and being the same as a number of data communications that the receiver is to receive from the transmitter during the delay-constrained time period; and HARQ feedback associated with the HARQ process is sent to the transmitter based at least in part on the data communication.

21. The receiver according to claim 20, wherein The number of data communications is one data communication, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine that the number of the one or more HARQ processes is one HARQ process based at least in part on the number of data communications being one data communication, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to identify the HARQ process based at least in part on determining that the number of the one or more HARQ processes is one HARQ process when identifying the HARQ process.

22. The receiver according to claim 20, wherein The receiver is a user equipment (UE), wherein the implicit indication comprises an indication of a number of bits allocated for a HARQ process identifier associated with the HARQ process, and wherein the one or more processors, when identifying the HARQ process, are further configured to identify the HARQ process identifier based at least in part on the number of bits in a downlink control information (DCI) communication associated with the data communication.

23. The receiver according to claim 20, wherein The one or more processors are further configured to: sending an indication of the HARQ process to the transmitter in a downlink control information (DCI) communication, the DCI communication including an uplink grant, and The data communication is received from the transmitter, the data communication indicating the HARQ process.

24. The receiver according to claim 20, wherein The receiver is a user equipment (UE), and the one or more processors are further configured to receive an explicit indication of the number of the one or more HARQ processes.

25. The receiver of claim 20, wherein The implicit indication includes an indication of a number of the data communications, and the one or more processors are further configured to determine a number of the one or more HARQ processes based at least in part on the implicit indication.

26. The receiver of claim 22, wherein: The DCI communication includes a downlink grant.

27. A transmitter for wireless communication, comprising: Memory; as well as one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to: sending an implicit indication to a receiver of a number of one or more hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes configured for a delay-constrained time period, the implicit indication including an indication that the receiver operates in an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) mode; sending a data communication to the receiver during the delay-constrained time period; as well as For the data communications, receive HARQ feedback associated with a HARQ process from the one or more HARQ processes, a number of the one or more HARQ processes being based at least in part on the indication that the receiver is operating in the IIoT mode and being the same as a number of data communications that the transmitter will send to the receiver during the delay constrained time period.

28. The transmitter according to claim 27, wherein The transmitter is a network node, and the one or more processors are further configured to transmit an explicit indication of the number of the one or more HARQ processes in a downlink control information (DCI) communication including a downlink grant.

29. The transmitter according to claim 27, wherein The implicit indication comprises an indication of a quantity of the data communication.

30. The transmitter of claim 27, wherein The one or more HARQ processes include a first subset of HARQ processes among a plurality of HARQ processes configured for the transmitter and a second subset of HARQ processes among the plurality of HARQ processes configured for enhanced mobile bandwidth traffic or ultra-reliable low-latency communication traffic.

31. A computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, wherein: The program code is executable by one or more processors of a receiver to cause the processors to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 12.

32. A computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, wherein: The program code is executable by one or more processors of the transmitter to cause the processors to perform the method of any one of claims 13 to 19.

33. An apparatus for wireless communication performed at a receiver, the apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 12.

34. An apparatus for wireless communication performed at a transmitter, the apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any one of claims 13 to 19.

35. A computer program product comprising computer readable instructions which, when executed by a processor of a receiver, cause the processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 12.

36. A computer program product comprising computer readable instructions which, when executed by a processor of a transmitter, cause the processor to perform the method of any one of claims 13 to 19.

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